News Progress

•December 4, 2024•

Submitted by  Cheri Burcham
Extension Educator
University of Illinois Extension  

The holidays are promoted as the most wonderful time of the year! Gathering of family and friends, decorating, baking, shopping….eeek! Illinois Extension Educator Mary Liz Wright shared this article recently on the blog Be Smart, Eat Well, Get Healthy and it is a great time to share this with you! Mary Liz says: This wonderful time can also be stressful—how can you make it less so? As you make your list and check it twice, think smarter not harder. Keep it simple sister (KISS)!   Here are a few tips that might help you de-stress your holidays: Say yes when your guests offer to bring a dish. Assign tasks to family members, get everyone involved, even little ones can set the table, help stir, or make place cards. Shop ahead, shelf stable items can be purchased weeks before the holiday and fresh items can be purchased several days in advance.   Go to Illinois Extension’s website The Perfect Turkey Meal at https://extension.illinois.edu/turkey for tips and recipes. Speaking of turkey, plan for ¾ pound of turkey per person, thaw in the refrigerator: 24 hours per every 5 pounds, bake a turkey breast rather than a whole turkey (bone-in gives better flavor broth). Think about oven space—you can cook the turkey the day before, slice and refrigerate and heat in the microwave prior to serving. You can purchase an oven-ready or even a pre-cooked turkey.   Cook ahead and reheat when possible. Bake pies or buy your favorite. Assemble casseroles and refrigerate uncooked; bake on the holiday, cut and prep vegetables, fruits, and garnishes 2-3 days before. Set the table the day before. Relax the timetable: sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast and enjoy a late afternoon holiday meal. There is no law against dessert, cranberry sauce or bread product purchased from the store. Will leftovers be a problem? Reduce the number of dishes or cut the recipe in half.

Lessons on the Windowsill

•December 4, 2024•

by Janet Roney

“I know right where those Kickapoo camped with Biggs,” our neighbor, John, said.  “It was on the rise just west of Mike’s. They missed one duck, though, ‘cause here’s the arrow they lost.” He laid a beautiful medium-sized arrowhead on the table. “And, they didn’t gut the second duck before cooking it because they lost their best hunting knife after they dressed the first duck for Biggs.” He laid a large white flint knife next to the first point. John found these and other beautiful points near Eagle Pond.

Moultrie County elections

The November 5, 2024 election has come and gone, that is true. In the November 13, 2024 News Progress article Moultrie County Election Results, there is included some misinformation I would like to clear up.

There were quotes in the article purportedly made by a staff member who did not make such statements, nor would she; nor does she speak in the manner the quotes indicate. I’m curious from where those statements came.

Concerning the part wherein Moultrie saw about 200 new registered voters on election day alone: we don’t even know that number in the Clerk’s office, we have not attempted to confirm that information as we are finalizing other information for the election. Early voting in Moultrie County was not mostly senior citizens, it was all ages and all walks of life.

White Man’s Stuff

•November 27, 2024•

by Janet Roney

I learned at least two things from William Bigg’s account of his Indian captivity and trek across Illinois through Moultrie County to Indiana in 1788. I learned a new recipe for boiled duck a’ la feather and I learned that a person can be tied so tightly that he might wish he were dead.  

Why didn’t they kill him or burn him at the stake like countless other captives had been, including one of Bigg’s own brothers years before?

•November 27, 2024•

Hosted by the Sullivan American Legion post #68, will be a no chili, soup cookoff on Friday, November 29th at 5:30pm. With an entry fee of $5, a tasting fee of $5 which grants one sample of each soup and a $5 per bowl fee allowing guests to get a bowl of their favorite soup. The public is welcome to the event to taste test or even buy a bowl of soup, winner gets bragging rights and a prize.  For more information, any questions or to sign up for the cookoff, contact Tina Bolsen at (217) 620-8185.